Farm E.Coli twins 'very poorly'

Twins Todd [left] and Aaron Furnell both suffered acute kidney failure

The father of young twins who suffered kidney failure after contracting E.Coli at a petting farm in Surrey said the boys have been "very poorly".

Mike Furnell and Tracy Mock brought one of their two-year-old sons, Todd, home on Thursday, but are still waiting for Aaron's condition to improve.

Mr Furnell, of Paddock Wood, Kent, said the boys were unable to understand what was happening to them.

Eighty two cases of E.Coli have been linked to Godstone Farm, near Redhill.

The family visited Godstone on the August Bank Holiday, and a week later, the twins were on dialysis.

Out of the 82 confirmed cases, three children remain in hospital including Todd's twin Aaron.

  "[The farm] should have been closed ... it should never have happened to us " said Mike Furnell.

Previously, the Health Protection Agency said it expected people to continue coming forward with symptoms for some time, because the bug had a delayed incubation period.

Mr Furnell said at one stage it had crossed their minds that the boys might not come home.

And he said: "We feel it [the farm] should have been closed at least a couple of days before we went there and that it should never have happened to us.

"Hopefully, the authorities will investigate this and make some decisions to shut farms down quicker if this was to happen again."

He added: "It's been pretty traumatic for the boys.

"They don't really understand what's been happening to them. They've been poorly, very poorly.

"And it's the same for us. We've not really understood all that's been happening and it's been pretty traumatic for us as well."

Tests by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) found the bug was present in animal droppings collected at the farm.

Positive samples came from ewes, lambs, pigs, goats, cattle, ponies and rabbits, the VLA said.

Five farms across England have closed since the outbreak at Godstone.

The other four are Horton Park Children's Farm in Epsom, White Post Farm in Nottinghamshire, World of Country Life in Exmouth in Devon, and the Big Sheep and Little Cow Farm in Bedale, North Yorkshire.

(Edit:Ruby)